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KEVIN Rudd has appointed a record four women to his 20-strong
cabinet, with three more in the outer ministry and three as
parliamentary secretaries.

That's 10 women in key leadership roles compared with six in the
Howard government at the time of its demise.

Julia Gillard is Australia's first Deputy Prime Minister, with a
prodigious workload that includes responsibility for education,
workplace relations and "social inclusion".

Early next month Ms Gillard will be the first woman running the
country as Acting Prime Minister while Mr Rudd goes to the UN
climate summit in Bali.

He described Ms Gillard yesterday as a "first-class human being
with a first-class mind" who would be "a first-class Deputy Prime
Minister of Australia".

Mr Rudd said he was proud that there were seven women in the
ministry and they deserved to be there because they had all "worked
their guts out".

"They are strong, talented individuals and very much represent
Australia's step into the future."

Labor will have 40 women in Parliament, 26 in the House of
Representatives and 14 in the Senate, compared with the Coalition's
22, 13 in the House and nine in the Senate.

At just 30, Kate Ellis becomes Australia's youngest federal
minister as she takes on youth and sport.

She is 18 months younger than Paul Keating was when he became a
minister. Ms Ellis spent much of her childhood alongside the
troubled Murray River and was drawn into politics as she campaigned
to save it.

Both major parties have male-female leadership teams.

On the Coalition side, Julie Bishop, once touted as a state
opposition leader in WA, outmanoeuvred Andrew Robb and Christopher
Pyne to become the first female deputy leader of the federal
Liberals.

Lawyer Penny Wong arrived in Parliament six years ago and
rapidly made a name for herself with her incisive questioning of
government officials during Senate estimates hearings and as
Labor's spokeswoman during the election campaign.

As Minister for Climate Change and Water, Senator Wong will have
a key role to play in the complex climate change negotiations in
Bali.

She will then be responsible in cabinet for negotiating
Australia's domestic emissions trading regime and harmonising
Labor's new national renewable energy targets with existing
state-based schemes.

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